


Pink, Purple and Blue

by palpietine



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Biphobia, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Mermista, Bisexual Sea Hawk, Bisexuality, Coming Out, F/F, F/M, Homophobia, Me? A bisexual woman projecting on two bisexual characters?, Mer - Mystery, Pride, Relationship Goals, Seamista September, date, it's more likely than you think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26558986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/palpietine/pseuds/palpietine
Summary: Mermista decides to come out to Sea Hawk as bisexual.Written for Seamista September on tumblr:Day 20: Pride
Relationships: Adora & Mermista (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Mermista (She-Ra), Mermista & Perfuma (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Sea Hawk/The Falcon (Past) (Mentioned)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 47





	Pink, Purple and Blue

**Author's Note:**

> I think this is the fic I have spent the least amount working on, but I'm really proud of it. I have kind of pushed myself to not overwork myself in details about what I write and just go with the flow. I hope you enjoy it!

Mermista Salineas met Sea Hawk Jordan on her very first day of classes on the University of Etheria. They shared a class on English Literature, since this is what they both minored in. His minor was the third thing she found out about him. The second thing she learned about him was his major; History, with a particular interest in the history of pirates around the world. But, the very first thing she learned about him was that he found her attractive, seeing as the first thing he told her when they met was “Am I seeing things or do I have the pleasure to sit next to the most wonderful being I have ever set my eyes upon?”

At first, she just groaned and rolled her eyes; her typical reaction to pretty much everything. He sat next to her, but, for the most part, she ignored the info-dump and flirting he tried to squeeze in the 5 minutes they had before class began. Unfortunately, professor Castaspella notified them that the seats they were sitting on would be the ones they’d keep for the rest of the semester, which meant that she’d have to sit next to Sea Hawk for about 4 more months. Hearing that, Sea Hawk smiled and his eyes shined bright, while Mermista… groaned and rolled her eyes.

What? Did you expect her to react differently?

As the weeks rolled, she started feeling a little bad that he constantly reached out to her to become friends and she always ignored him when he talked to her. So, she decided to give it a try and have an actual conversation with him. Surprisingly enough, not only did she realize he was actually a pretty cool guy to talk to, but she discovered they had a lot in common. They were both fans of the ‘Mer – Mystery’ franchise (though he had only seen the not-up-to-par television adaptation, but she let him borrow the books to realize why they were better), they were both of Asian descent and they were both interested in auditioning for the theater club’s play.

It didn’t take long for them to become friends, though Mermista was still frustrated by some of Sea Hawk’s more… unorthodox hobbies, like singing sea shanties at the most random times, setting tiny model ships on fire and flirting with her. Sea Hawk hadn’t explicitly admitted he had feelings for Mermista, but she had seen him interact with his friends, and he definitely didn’t call any of them “the brightest star in the night sky” or “the most beautiful pearl of the ocean”. While she was definitely low-key fluttered by his compliments – not that she would tell him – she only saw him as a friend…

At least, at the beginning…

So, what changed?

Well, it was the small things, like when they were out for coffee and he bought her a brownie, because she had made some comment about how they were probably delicious. Or when they were at the library and he reminded her to take her jacket off the chair. When Sea Hawk wasn’t busy trying to impress her with cheesy pick-up lines and shanties, he was actually a very kind and genuine person, who just tried too hard sometimes. Mermista honestly began liking the more authentic side of him, as in, _really_ liking it.

And she noticed she began doing small things for him too, without giving it a second thought. She gave him one of her scarves when he lost his in a classroom; he didn’t mind that it was a Hello Kitty scarf (which she had bought ironically, _obviously_ ), he still rocked it. Or that time when she suggested to help him organize his closet, when he complained about how messy it was. They were closer than she wanted to admit, and she was beginning to see him in a different light.

Eventually, after one of his many attempts at flirting with her, she decided to give him a chance and responded to his flirting. It was surprising to both of them, but they both enjoyed it. It didn’t take long for Sea Hawk to ask her out on a date at a small coffee shop. While the date itself was a disaster, since their table accidentally caught fire, she had fun. After the date, they agreed on a second date. The second date led to a third date and the third date led to a fourth date, which they were about to go on in an hour. That date was the main topic of discussion between Mermista and Perfuma, as they were sitting in the dorm room they shared at campus.

“So, where is he taking you?” Perfuma asked Mermista, while the former watered the plants placed in tiny pink pots on top of her desk.

“At this, like, apparently super awesome tea shop he found.” Mermista answered, as she stood in front of her open closet, searching for an outfit for the date. She pulled out a red hoodie, which featured the word ‘Mer – Mystery’ in large, bold, green letters on it, and a pair of black ripped jeans. Mermista showed it to Perfuma. “Is this, like, a totally awesome outfit or what?”

“I think the jeans are a good choice, but the hoodie is a tad bit too casual.” Perfuma commented after glancing carefully at the clothes. “Why don’t you try a sweater?” Perfuma suggested and caressed one of her plants’ leaves.

“Yeah… That’s probably, like, a much better idea or whatever… ” Mermista admitted before groaning. She had been looking for a good outfit for 15 minutes and she was nowhere near making a decision. She placed the hoodie back in the closet and threw the jeans on her bed, before turning back to the closet to search for a sweater. “I just really want to, like, look really nice tonight, you know?”

“If you want to look nice, you should focus less on the sweater you’re going to wear and more on what you’re wearing under the sweater.” A female voice both Mermista and Perfuma were familiar with interrupted their conversation, making the two roommates look up to their dorm room’s suddenly open entrance.

“Seriously, Catra? Now it’s not the time for this, you know?” Mermista said to her feline friend and resident of the neighboring dorm, with an annoyed tone, before rolling her eyes.

“How did you get in here anyway? Wasn’t the door locked?” Perfuma wondered and furrowed her eyebrows before placing her watering pot down and turning on her phone to look at her message notifications.

“Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t. For once, I didn’t have to break in here to come and talk to you two.” Catra replied before walking towards Mermista’s bed and collapsing on the soft surface.

“Perfuma, did you, like, forget to lock the door again?” Mermista turned towards her room mate. “Ugh! Do you want us to get robbed again?”

“Why are you accusing me of forgetting to lock the door?” Perfuma said, without looking up from her phone’s screen. “Maybe it was you who forgot to lock the door…”

“Yeah, I totally wasn’t. You were the last one to leave the room, when you wanted to fill up your watering pot or whatever…” Mermista reminded her roommate before rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to her closet. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter anyway, since Catra closed it now…”

“Who told you I closed it?” Catra said, without moving from her comfortable spot on Mermista’s bed. She didn’t even raise her head to look at the two women.

“What? Why didn’t you close the door?” Perfuma asked, curious. She wasn’t surprised that Catra didn’t do something that was considered common courtesy, but she thought that Catra would at least do that.

“I left it open, because I’m waiting for Adora to come over!” Catra elaborated. “She was busy putting her hair up in a ponytail and I decided to go ahead without her.”

“Catra, I told you to wait for me so we could knock the door together!” Another female voice, belonging to a blond girl who was just chiming in the room, was heard, making Mermista and Perfuma turn their attention again to the room’s entrance.

“Speaking of the devil…” Catra commented. “Hey, Adora…” Catra greeted her roommate and girlfriend, again avoiding to make any unnecessary moves.

Upon seeing Catra resting on the bed, Adora sighed and placed her hand on her forehead “Please don’t tell me you broke in this dorm room again…”

“Gosh! Of course not! Do you have such little faith in me?” Catra chuckled. Then, she patted the spot next to her. “Come rest here. It’s really comfortable…”

“Fine!” Adora replied playfully and rushed towards Mermista’s bed, so she could collapse on it, next to her girlfriend. “Mermista, how come your bed is so comfortable? Our beds are terrible!”

“Maybe, I don’t know, it’s because I actually use it to sleep and not to have mattress jumping competitions with Bow and Glimmer?” Mermista responded. “You know that, like, we can totally hear you four jumping up and down, right?”

“I honestly wonder how you haven’t broken either yours or their beds already.” Perfuma added.

“Whatever! At least we take full of advantage of our beds, for many activities…” Catra commented and wiggled her eyebrows, earning a light punch from Adora, who was hardly trying to contain her laughter. “Which is exactly what I want you to do, Mermista. If you want to look nice for Sea Dove…”

“It’s Sea Hawk.”

“Whatever… If you want to look nice for him, you need to focus on what’s under the surface. By which I mean you need lingerie. Do you have lingerie?” Catra completed her sentence and moved her head to be resting on Adora’s shoulder. Adora wrapped her arms around Catra and kissed the top of her head.

“We can take you shopping if you don’t. Glimmer knows some shops that…” Adora added.

“Enough you two!” Mermista shouted at them. Her sudden words made the two girlfriends sit up surprised. They shared a worried look and turned towards Mermista.

“Okay, we’re stopping. Jeez!” Catra said before glancing towards Perfuma, who was staring at her with a demanding look. Catra rolled her eyes; ever since Perfuma declared herself her self-helping guide, Catra couldn’t shrug off anything without feeling guilty that Perfuma would be disappointed. “Fine. I’m sorry if I took this joke too far…”

“I’m sorry too.” Adora added. “But, in my defense, I wasn’t sure if Catra was joking or not…”

“Apologies accepted. Now, can I please get some peace and quiet? I’m actually, like, really anxious about this date. I need to pick a totally cool outfit and none of you are helping me with your terrible jokes, you know?” Mermista sighed, rolled her eyes, groaned and turned to her closet once again. Then, she groaned, once again. “Ugh! Why can’t I find any good clothes?”

“Why are you so worried anyway? This isn’t your first date with Sea Hawk.” Catra wondered as she rested on the bed again.

“Well, there’s this thing I have, like, yet to tell him about me. I want to tell him today, okay?” Mermista explained.

“What thing are you talking about?” Adora asked Mermista, as she laid down on the bed. Adora rested on her side and wrapped her arms around Catra’s torso, before pulling her girlfriend closer to her.

“I… I haven’t told Sea Hawk I’m bisexual yet.” Mermista admitted. While her tone was careless and sardonic as always, there was a hint of worry in her words.

“Okay, so?” Catra said. “I mean, he’s definitely not homophobic. He’s fine with being roommates and friends with Bow, and Bow is both bisexual _and_ trans.

“Also, pretty much all of his friends and your friends are gay one way or the other.” Adora added. “Now that I think about it, I actually don’t think there’s any member of our friend group that isn’t queer one way or another… except for Sea Hawk, obviously. Huh…”

“Exactly! I’m pretty sure that, if Sea Hawk was homophobic in any capacity, he would have expressed it by now.” Perfuma noted. “In my experience, homophobic people can’t handle being in a queer space and have the audacity to speak up about their terrible opinions. I don’t think you should worry about Sea Hawk’s reaction.”

“Okay, you know-it-all’s, here’s the issue that you obviously can’t see since you don’t know, like, all about me super well…” Mermista abandoned her search for a sweater, once again, and turned towards her three friends. “My experiences with coming out to my previous partners haven’t exactly been the best, I guess…”

“What are you talking about, Mer?” Perfuma asked, with furrowed eyebrows and eyes slightly open in worry.

“I actually, like, don’t really want to talk about it, or whatever… So just take my word for it!” Mermista responded, sarcastic and careless as always. Because she knew she wouldn’t be able to tell them about all her past partners without continuing to look sarcastic and careless.

Because she remembered her first boyfriend, who broke up with her when she told him she thought she might like boys and girls, because she was an abomination and a disgrace. Because she remembered her first girlfriend, who told her she was disgusting for having dated a man. Because she remembered her second boyfriend, who ‘surprised’ her with a threesome for her birthday, since he assumed that, since she was bi, she would automatically be into having sex with multiple people at the same time. Because she remembered how scared she was that they would tell her parents, who, to this day, still knew nothing about her real sexuality. Because she had been so hurt, so many times, and she didn’t want anyone to know about that. How was she supposed to be the cool, nonchalant sardonic and cynical friend they knew of, when she couldn’t shrug off how much her exes’ words hurt her?

She would tell her friends one day about everything, but that day was totally not today. Mermista didn’t know them long enough to reveal such a hurtful part of her past. One day, she would open up and would let them know all about the emotions she hided behind her attitude. But this day would take a while to come. For now, they’d better compromise with her vague response.

“Well, I certainly believe what you’re saying. I won’t push you to reveal anything, Mermista.” Perfuma commented.

“Besides, let’s be honest, we’ve all had our fair share of bad coming-out experiences. It’s okay. We get it…” Catra added, before purring on Adora’s shoulder.

“But you shouldn’t let your past bad experiences make you worried. Sea Hawk is a great guy. While it’s not bad that you are nervous, you should remember that, in the end, it’s Sea Hawk we’re talking about. He’s the least judgmental person I have met, so you’re probably safe.” Adora said, before caressing Catra’s head.

“And, if anything goes wrong, just let us know and we’ll deal with Sea Hawk for you.” Catra noted.

“Catra!” Perfuma and Adora said simultaneously.

“That’s, like, really nice of you, I guess…” Mermista sounded like she didn’t care about her friends’ comments and wanted to brush them off. But when she turned back to her closet, she smiled just a tad bit. Suddenly, her eyes fell on a piece of garment she just knew would be perfect for tonight. She pulled it out and showed it to her friends. “How about this one?”

All three girls stared at the purple sweater with awe.

“Mermista, it’s amazing! You should definitely wear it!” Perfuma commented enthusiastically.

“You think so?” Mermista wondered.

“I agree with Perfuma. It’s great.” Adora added.

“Whatever Adora said…” Catra said as she purred on Adora’s shoulder.

* * *

Sea Hawk and Mermista had agreed to meet up outside of the tea shop. As Mermista got closer to the tea shop, she saw him standing outside, looking enthusiastic as always. Mermista glanced towards the shop’s sign, which said ‘Tea Corner by Raz’ in pink letters. When Sea Hawk saw her walking towards him, he smiled even more than he had previously, if that was possible, and his eyes were bright.

“Mermista! My love! My most beautiful pearl!” Sea Hawk shouted at her, as he run to meet her halfway.

“Hey, Sea Hawk…” Mermista raised her hand to greet him, but was interrupted by him jumping into her arms and hugging her.

“I was beginning to worry you wouldn’t find the shop, or that you decided to not show up at all…” Sea Hawk interrupted her, sounding melodramatic.

“Babe, I was literally, like, 5 minutes late. I even texted you I might be a little bit late.” Mermista said, but rolled her eyes and decided to not pay more attention to it. “Can we, like, get inside now? It’s super cold out here.”

“Of course, my love.” Sea Hawk let go of her and kissed her lips for a second, before taking her hand and leading her to the tea shop.

“So, like, how did you find this place?” Mermista wondered, as Sea Hawk opened the door and waved for her to step in, which she did. Once she was inside, she was greeted by the sweet aroma of tea coming from the cups of the clients. The tea shop was decorated to resemble a cottage and there was a warm and cozy atmosphere that was definitely fit for a tea shop.

“I actually asked our friends if they had any recommendations for places. Adora told me about this tea shop and it just clicked for me.” Sea Hawk explained, as he walked after Mermista and let the door close. “I have never been to a tea shop, so I thought it would be like an…”

“Don’t say it.”

“…adventure!” Sea Hawk added, a little bit too loud. Some of the people sitting on a table near them stared at the couple for a second with curiosity, before turning back to their cups and their conversation. Mermista ignored them. Sea Hawk could be annoying some times, but, honestly, she had gotten used to it. And she found it cute that he could find something exciting in everything in the world around him. More people should be like him. But, of course, she wouldn’t say that out loud, so instead she rolled her eyes.

“Honestly, I’ve never been to a tea shop before either, so I guess it’s totally gonna be an adventure.” Mermista said and shrugged. “So, where should we, like, sit or whatever?”

“There’s a table for two near a heater. I think it would be great for us, my love.” Sea Hawk pointed towards the aforementioned table.

“I mean, I guess it’s fine…” Mermista said. She really didn’t care if they were close to a heater or not, so if Sea Hawk wanted them to sit near a warm place, she wouldn’t mind.

“Excellent!” Sea Hawk exclaimed, before grabbing her by her hand and leading her towards the table. He grabbed one of the chairs and pulled it out slightly, for Mermista to sit on.

“Gosh, you’re like, such a gentleman…” Mermista rolled her eyes and chuckled, as she sat down and took off the black leather jacket she was wearing to place it on the chair’s back. Sea Hawk was a bit old-fashioned in his manners; always complimenting and treating her like a princess. It was pretty sweet, though it could be overbearing sometimes too, like when he insisted he paid for everything on their first date. They were both broke university students; there was no need for him to deteriorate his financial situation even more by paying for her meal as well.

“Of course, my beautiful star. Because you’re a woman worth being a gentleman for…” Sea Hawk leaned down and kissed Mermista on the cheek, before walking to the other side of the small table to sit down. Mermista felt her face heat up; ever since when did he become an actually good flirt? Especially tonight, when she had something so important to tell him…

Between the long bus ride to get to the shop and their small talk, Mermista had managed to control her nerves about what she wanted to tell him. She wasn’t that nervous anymore, but she also wasn’t sure how to tell him. Or even when! Should she do it after they drink their tea? Should she do it near the end of the date? Or…”

“Good evening! Welcome to ‘Tea Corner by Raz’!” A woman standing next to the table greeted the, with a bright smile. Mermista hadn’t noticed her closing in the table; it was like she appeared out of thin air. The woman was a waitress, judging by her white apron, which had the name of the tea shop printed on it. She was tall and a brunette, with dark skin and small green eyes. “My name’s Mara and I’ll be your waitress for tonight!” the waitress – Mara – introduced herself and presented Sea Hawk and Mermista with two menus. “I’ll be back in a minute.” She said as she walked away to another table.

“Thanks.” Mermista told the waitress before turning her attention to the menu. She flipped through the pages, not really paying any attention to the products. While she loved tea, she just wasn’t interested in paying attention to reading all the fancy teas and their ingredients one by one. She’d probably just get a black tea and get done with it. She glanced over at Sea Hawk, who was studying the menu with dedication to finding the perfect tea, while taking off his blue coat and letting it fall back on his chair’s back.

It was cute that he wanted to make a good choice of tea. He always put effort in little things, even if it wasn’t necessary. He was kind and sweet and adorable. He could definitely be cheesy, sure, but she preferred that over any other guy who pretended to be tough and ‘manly’ just for the sake of it. If more men – actually, if more people – were like Sea Hawk, then everyone would be more comfortable with who they are and expressing their emotions. She was always so cold and difficult with self-expression; she could learn a lesson from him or two, and so could the rest of the world.

Adora was right; Sea Hawk would accept her for who she is, because that’s what type of person he is; accepting, loving, caring. But that’s what she thought about so many people before coming out, only for them to either completely cut her out of her life, or just start acting weird around her and slowly abandoning her. You could never be too sure; a nice personality didn’t equal respecting others for who they are. There were so many things that could go wrong and she could only get more worried about everything as the moments passed and…

“Adora told me they make excellent pies here. Would you like to order a piece of pie?” Sea Hawk asked Mermista, his eyes glued to the menu. His questions broke her anxiety-driven train of thought, but she was still feeling exhausted from all the mental pathways the train had followed previously.

“I’m not, like, super hungry or anything. So, no thanks…” Mermista replied, not really paying attention. She didn’t care about what tea she’d order, so she most definitely wasn’t interested in any food whatsoever. Also, she was certain a piece of pie would cost at _least_ 6 dollars, and she wanted to save money.

“Well, if you say so…” Sea Hawk said and looked up to Mermista. “You look gorgeous in that sweater.”

“Oh, um, thanks…” Mermista responded and smiled at him briefly. “I mean, it’s warm and it’s cold outside, and it does its job of warming you up, so I guess it’s okay…”

“True, but I bet no other woman could ever make it look so good as you do, Misty.” Sea Hawk added and reached out to hold her hand. He was so damn nice to her! He treated her well, he complimented her, he took care of her. Mermista wished her worries were wrong and everything went okay, but the worries were still there.

“I… I suppose…” Mermista looked away, feeling guilty for not being able to concentrate on him. But she was nervous and she wasn’t sure how she could pretend she wasn’t.

“You’re not gonna groan or make a sarcastic comment?” Sea Hawk wondered and raised his eyebrow. “Is everything alright? You haven’t been your usual self. You haven’t groaned at all since we got here. You’re just… passive, even more than usual.”

“Um…” Mermista wasn’t sure how to answer his question. She was more anxious than she thought, and it was more obvious than she imagined. Or maybe Sea Hawk just knows her that well and he can pick up on her emotions. This couldn’t continue. If she was so nervous at that moment and he knew it, he wouldn’t stop asking her about it. She had to tell him now. She had to be honest with him. “Actually, there is something that, like, I’ve wanted to tell you, I guess…”

“And what is that you want to tell me?” Sea Hawk inquired.

“Well…”

“Have you decided yet?” Mara interrupted her. Mermista and Sea Hawk turned and gasped in shock for a moment, as it seemed like Mara appeared out of think air. There was a wide smile on her face, which looked genuine and not the I-need-your-tip kind. She was holding a small notebook and a pen, obviously to take their orders.

“I would like to have the ‘Fire Dragon’ tea, please.” Sea Hawk gave her his order. “Ooh! And I would like a piece of apple pie. Rumor has it you make excellent pies.”

“The rumors are true, sir. We make the best pies in the city of Whispering Woods!” Mara responded, as she wrote down his order. Then, she turned towards Mermista. “What would you like to have, ma’am?”

“Um, I just want black tea. Thank you.” Mermista said quickly and closed the menu.

“I’ll be right back!” Mara said, while writing down Mermista’s order. Afterwards, she clicked her pen close and placed the pen and the notebook back in her pocket, before taking the menus and walking away.

“So far, I’m really enjoying this place!” Sea Hawk commented enthusiastically, as he turned around to look at Mermista. “The atmosphere is nice, the staff is polite and friendly, and everyone here seems to enjoy their food and drinks. What do you think, my love?”

“Um, yeah, I agree…” Mermista said.

It was quiet for a moment, before Sea Hawk’s face dropped. He looked at her with worry. “Did I… Did I do something wrong? Is that what you want to tell me?”

“No! No, it’s… you have nothing to do with what I want to tell you, okay?” Mermista explained. “It’s, like, this thing that I haven’t told you and it’s a pretty big deal. Like, if I postpone telling you even more, I might never do it, or whatever.”

“What is it, my love?” Sea Hawk looked her in the eyes. He reached out to grab her hands with his. “No matter what it is, I’m sure I can handle it. Don’t worry. Go on…”

“Fine…” Mermista sighed, before taking a deep breath and staring into Sea Hawk’s eyes with a sharp look. “Sea Hawk, I’m bisexual. I’m attracted to multiple genders. It’s who I am, and I hope you don’t hate me for this, or whatever…”

Sea Hawk was quiet for a moment, before chuckling, confusing and aggravating Mermista. Here she was, revealing one of her most well-kept secrets to him, and he chuckled?

“What’s so funny?” Mermista asked, sounding ready to snap if his answer was wrong.

“Oh, my love, how can you say I could hate you?” Sea Hawk said.

“Well, you can never be too sure who’s homophobic and who’s not…”

“No, I mean…” Sea Hawk glanced at their intertwined fingers, sighed and turned his attention back to Mermista. “How could I hate you for being something that I also am?”

“You’re bisexual, too?” Mermista asked, shocked.

“Exactly!”

“Huh… that’s… that’s great, like…” Mermista smiled briefly for a moment, before realizing something. “This is, like, the first time I hear about this. Why though?” she asked, curiously.

“Well, I didn’t know you’re bisexual either. I’m just as shocked as you right now.” Sea Hawk replied.

“Yeah, but, like, that’s because I asked all my close friends to keep it a secret. I’m out to them, you know?” Mermista clarified. “Did you do something similar?”

“Actually...” Sea Hawk gave her a nervous half-smile. “You’re the first person I’ve come out to from our university.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Mermista said, surprised. “But, Bow, your roommate, is also bisexual. All of our friends are queer in one way or another. Why haven’t you, like, told anyone else?”

“Well, I… it’s kinda complicated… and a long story.” Sea Hawk caressed her hands with his thumbs.

“It’s fine. You can tell me.” Mermista said to him.

“Oh, really? I guess I should tell you the whole story then…” Sea Hawk began explaining. “When I was starting high school, I originally assumed I was gay. All my friends from school were talking about how much they liked our female classmates, but I didn’t feel this way about these girls. I found most of my female peers… kinda boring and not really pretty. Though, to be fair, no girl talked to me a lot, so I couldn’t get to know them long enough to have feelings for them. It took me a while to realize that. Apparently, teen girls don’t find you attractive when you’re just the weird boy who is obsessed with pirates, sea shanties and fires.”

“You still are though…”

“True, but don’t interrupt me, my love.” Sea Hawk raised his hand to show her his palm for a moment, to emphasize his words, before continuing. “Eventually, I got my first crush on a male classmate of mine, Falcon, who was gay. We began dating and I came out as gay. And things were like this for a while…” Sea Hawk paused for a moment to recollect his thoughts. “… then, when I was around 16, we read the book ‘Pride and Prejudice’ in class. And I just couldn’t help falling in love with Elizabeth Bennet. She was confident and stubborn and incredibly headstrong, but she was also kind to her friends and sisters. She was sarcastic and not afraid to speak her mind. She was… perfect. I realized I was attracted to women as well as men, but I just was disinterested in most girls around me. I also realized that I wasn’t attracted to any other boys around me either; just my boyfriend. It’s just that almost none of my peers really did it for me, you know?”

“Huh… so, you’re just kinda picky, I guess?” Mermista concluded.

“Maybe, I’m not sure. There are still things about the way I’m attracted to people that I have yet to understand fully.” Sea Hawk explained, before going back to his story. “Anyway… when I told Falcon I thought I might be bisexual, he… he broke up with me.”

“What?”

“Falcon was scared that I would realize I was straight all along and leave him. He… his ex-boyfriend was a straight guy experimenting and he was left heart-broken. He didn’t want to go through the same, so he dumped me.” Sea Hawk added. “I mean, I get why he was scared, but he hurt my feelings. I thought he would accept me for who I am and, instead, he abandoned me. After that, I decided to just… not date anyone in high school, at all. I didn’t even have a prom date.”

“And when you got here, what happened?” Mermista asked. “Why aren’t you out to anyone?”

“I just… I am worried that I might realize I’m something else entirely and I don’t want people to react the same way Falcon did.” Sea Hawk elaborated. “What if I realize I’m pansexual, or asexual, or demisexual, or omnisexual? Hell, what if I realize I am actually gay, or straight? I’m just… so confused and so terrified of potentially changing labels, and the reaction that will follow.”

“Oh wow… That Falcon guy really hurt you, huh?” Mermista said, sounding sorry and sad and, surprisingly enough, not as sarcastic as usual. “My first boyfriend just told me I’d go to hell for liking women. He never made me feel so conflicted about my sexuality like Falcon did for you.”

“What? How dare he?” Sea Hawk exclaimed, offended and ready to defend her. “Give me his name and I’m going to give him a piece of my mind about who is the one going to hell…”

“Sea Hawk, it’s fine… you don’t have to. It’s been, like, a very long time, anyway, so…” Mermista shrugged her shoulders.

“If you insist…” He rolled his eyes, before looking down.

“And he wasn’t my only ex who began treating me differently after coming out to them, anyway. I don’t, like, really want to go into detail, or whatever, but the reason I broke up with all of my exes pretty much boils down to them not respecting my sexuality. I know how you feel, Sea Hawk.” Mermista told him, as she raised her right hand to tenderly place her right palm on his cheek for comfort and looked him deeply in the eyes. “Also, I will keep it a secret if you want to. But I really don’t think you should be afraid of coming out to your friends, you know? And even if you realize you’re something else, I’m pretty sure they’re gonna accept you. And, if they don’t, I’m gonna convince them to.”

“Thanks, Mermista. You’re the best, you know?” Sea Hawk told her.

“Of course.”

“Why is it so hard to be yourself in this world?” Sea Hawk wondered, sounding sad and thoughtful. Mermista had never seen him be so serious, not even for exams.

“There are definitely, like, many potential explanations for this.” Mermista replied, even though they both knew his question was rhetorical. She pulled her hands close to herself and rested them on her thighs. “But your point stands. It’s, like, so ridiculously difficult to be your true self, because you’re constantly worried about how people will react, and it’s ridiculous, because you’re not hurting anyone and it’s just terrible and nerve-wreaking! Ugh!”

“Aw! You’re so cute when you groan!” Sea Hawk smiled at her and gave her a glance filled with adoration.

“I’m not… okay, maybe a little…” Mermista admitted and chuckled. “At least we can be our true selves with each other now, you know?”

“Totally…” Sea Hawk responded. “I don’t know about you, but I really like our dates.”

“Same.”

“I was wondering… we haven’t exactly put a word on what we are and I wanted to ask you this: do you want to be my girlfriend?” Sea Hawk asked and looked at her with a glance filled with anticipation.

“Yeah, sure! We can be a couple, I guess…” Mermista responded, without a second thought.

“Hooray!” Sea Hawk exclaimed enthusiastically. “I’m so happy, my love, and so incredibly lucky…”

“So am I, babe.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading this fic! I would appreciate it if you left kudos or comments. You can find me on tumblr @palpietine-1


End file.
